Whilst Tyson has never been given an official discharge from the army, in a weird nebulous place where it cannot be decided if he should be given an honourable or dishonourable discharge and thus trapped in legislation purgatory, Veteran AU Tyson has been given an honourable discharge.
Where Veteran AU Tyson is on prescription pain medication and - reluctantly - seeing a professional for his mental health, the main universe Tyson takes a variety of medication of varying legality far less frequently than he’s supposed to and avoids mental health professional’s like the plague.
Tyson wasn’t the only one terrified that youngest Delaney heir would end up a perfect copy of his father.
When Jethro ran away from home, he knew he wasn’t old enough to look after his brother. Jethro never wanted to leave Tyson alone with their father, but he had to leave and he knew that Tyson would be safer at the manor than with him on the streets.
Even knowing that he made the correct decision, Jethro was terrified that once he reunited with his brother, Tyson would be nothing more than a pawn in their father’s image. He was relieved when that worry proved false, but looking back at things now, Jethro worried he may have had the wrong priorities.
Maybe Tyson becoming another John wouldn’t have been such a bad thing. He would have stayed safe in Cambridge, away from The Colonel and the Moriarty Mirrors. Maybe that would have been better after all.
He dislikes photos in general, especially those that have himself in frame, but when he has to take photographs they will be like the one above: indirect and portrait.
He doesn’t like to have the focus of the image focused on the camera, not to make the image more natural or ‘real’ but instead, because he feels that when an image included the subject looking at the camera it makes part of the photo about the camera rather than just being about the subject.
Tyson prefers to take photos in a portrait orientation rather than landscape, because it means that there is less background to take away from the subject.
Tyson prefers this way because most of the photographs he takes are for work and he needs to make sure the focus is on the target - be it someone that needs taking out or someone that needs protecting - but he also uses this ‘style’ when taking photographs of friends and family, usually his brother and nephew.
Tyson doesn’t like taking photographs, but his dislike of photography isn’t linked to having liked taking photos of Sebastian.
He wasn’t particularly fond of photographing Sebastian, but it had played to the other man’s ego and Tyson had wanted to please the other man in any way that he could.
Tyson has destroyed most of the photographs now, not wanting any reminders of The Colonel, but there are a few still laying around as Tyson clings to the ‘good’ memories he had with Sebastian.
The most notable photos Tyson has taken of Sebastian is a tale from India.
After returning to Britain, Tyson’s first real resting place was his brother’s home.
On his way there, Tyson was largely living on the streets. He knew that once he was spotted with Lily, she would become an immediate giveaway, so he tried to avoid staying anywhere he might get recognised. He learnt quickly where to go and who to bribe to get a discreet room in cheap hotels, but there were still plenty of nights spent enduring the elements.
Tyson’s plan had been to sleep in Jethro’s spare bedroom or on the settee if he needed to, but - as usual in plans involving his brother - Jethro threw a wrench into that plan.
It had been two years since Jethro had seen his brother off for his latest deployment Afghanistan. His brother had been a wanted man and missing in action for over a year and a half, and then he returned. Sheepish smile in place, looking utterly exhausted and hungry, a dog plastered to his side who smelt only marginally better than him.
After throwing him into a hot bath and giving him a hot meal, Jethro wasn’t ready to leave his baby brother in another room. Tyson was dragged up into Jethro and Rosie’s bed and sandwiched between them, where he was warm and safe, and couldn’t break Jethro’s heart again.
The first night, Jethro barely slept. He was terrified that he’d wake up to discover it had all been a dream, that Tyson would still be missing or reported dead, or simply jack-rabbited away in the middle of the night. He refused to let Tyson out of his sight. He even ended up taking a week of work ‘sick’ to look after him.
Eventually, Tyson had to leave. He refused to put them in danger by staying too long and having them getting found harbouring a wanted man, but to this day, Tyson cannot describe the relief of waking up between Rosie and Jethro. Somewhere warm and dry, somewhere safe, somewhere he was loved again.
Given Tyson’s erratic schedule and almost allergic reaction to any cooking that requires heat, it’s not surprising that he tends to rely on pre-cooked meals and take-out.
Of course with access to the web’s resources Tyson has no trouble getting restaurant quality food delivered, but for the most part, Tyson prefers to take out two birds with one stone by going out for regular take-out whilst taking his dogs for a walk.
Since rice is Tyson’s favourite food, he’s unlikely to get tired of take-out anytime soon. He usually orders Japanese, as practically everything is safe to give to his dogs as treats when he has leftovers, and Indian purely as an excuse to munch on poppadoms and naan bread.
Alongside his habit of bringing food and drink when meeting people, Tyson will almost always make a point of bringing takeout when joining people on stakeouts. With Lex that usually means KFC, but when Tyson’s meeting with an employee of the web that he isn’t as familiar with, he usually defaults on Chinese and vegetable Chow mein.
As Sebastian’s favourite meal is Chicken Tikka Masala, Tyson has a tendency to avoid it, but he will always jump at the opportunity for Bò Lúc Lắc, Kim’s favourite food. Whenever he’s in New York, Tyson always orders Pad Kee Mao for Dick and when Nate’s not making him join the other man for brunch, he’s feeding Tyson Dim sum.
Though Tyson is more prone to putting things in his mouth unconsciously, there are a few fidgets that Tyson ends up doing with his hands instead.
In all likelihood, Tyson only has so few with his hands due constantly multitasking and already having something to occupy both hands.
Most commonly, Tyson will end up rolling a coin or twirling a pen between his fingers, but he can also be seen tracing out the conversation with his right index finger; not to better understand what is being said like his nervous tick, but simply idle movement whilst he’s listening.
He’s never been big on taking labels off bottles, preferring not to make an unnecessary mess, but if there is already a removed label Tyson will stick his hand to the glue on the bottle over and over again.
Tyson has told many lies over the course of his life.
Many that were to have his own life or the lives of those he cares about to the detriment of others and others that he knows saved many lives in the process of hurting the people that he cares about or himself. There are many lies that Tyson will gladly repeat until the end of time.
He is not without regrets, however, there are few lies that weigh on Tyson’s mind and keep him awake. Though he finds it easy to tell half-truths and talk circles around people with technicalities, Tyson does not lie lightly. He can and will lie when he needs to, but when Tyson does lie, it is with the certainty that there was no other option left.
Though he has never had a particularly sweet tooth, Tyson has struggled with low blood sugar ever since he was a child.
Every day after school, ever since he was old enough to attend nursery, one of the maids at the family manor would give Tyson a teaspoon of honey. If he didn’t eat that, Tyson would collapse or have wild mood swings for several hours; which is saying something as, on any given day, Tyson can give a man emotional whiplash.
Jasmine caught onto that quickly once she joined the manor’s staff, as well as the fact that Tyson snuck down into the kitchens after his father went to bed, and started leaving out sweets for Tyson to take up into the attic with him; Edinburgh rock or sherbet lemons usually.
A damn good fencer. Tyson’s brother and P.E. teacher can be quoted as repeatedly saying that Tyson “improved with the weather” when it came to sport, which was true. Tyson likes to relax and ‘conserve energy’, but he has shown himself to be talented in dancing [ballroom, classical, tap, and contemporary], cricket, tennis, rugby, and fencing.
Whilst Tyson was willing to go out and play cricket where people could see him, he kept fencing - like dancing - between himself, his tutor, his brother, and his father. When playing cricket a lot of the focus was on other players, were as in dance and in fencing more of the attention was on Tyson. This made him nervous and, therefore, unwilling to ‘perform’ outside of the classroom.
Tyson’s fencing tutor - who was also his Latin and Geography tutor - said that Tyson could have made a living out of fencing had he gotten over his nerves, Tyson never believed that.
Tyson would leap at the chance to fence again. His social anxieties mean that he’d never join a club to take up fencing, but if he got the chance to fence with some one he knew and trusted Tyson wouldn’t turn down the opportunity.
His talent with swords - mostly fencing swords, but he has dabbled with a fair amount of success with other swords - played a large role in him favouring knives over guns; after hand to hand combat (focusing on nerve, pressure, and vital points), obviously.
In most verses, Tyson has left swords behind, but his skills are much sharper in Pirate!Verse, XPirate!Verse, and RWBY AU. Within his Orphan AUs, in Teen!Verse Tyson is an active fencer and in Teen!VerseLDN Tyson only recently left fencing behind to take up boxing.
Thought Tyson is very academically qualified and knows that there are many other valid forms of qualification and achievements, he doesn’t understand why people care about tokens of those achievements.
For example, whilst he would never dismiss someone’s pride at a coin of sobriety or the effort it took to achieve, he cannot internalise the value of it.
Sports achievements, Tyson can wrap his head around and understand what each one means in comparison to another and the different areas they cover, but he struggles with anything other than academic or athletic achievements.
Even military medals are something of a question mark for him.
Since he was twenty-three-years-old, Tyson has been cutting his own hair.
He began cutting his own hair during his relationship with Kim. Tyson mentioned to her that he always felt stressed whenever scissors or clippers were taken to his head, always fearing an attack, and Kimiko asked why he didn’t just cut it himself.
That question dumbstruck Tyson. He had never really considered it an option before. It took him a while to get used to doing it right, but these days, though he largely uses a mixture of scissors, thinning scissors, and clippers, Tyson can even cut his hair properly using only the straight razor he uses to shave.
At this point, it’s largely muscle memory as Tyson always cuts his hair at roughly the same time; before it’s noticeably any different from its usual puffy nature. As such, he isn’t great at having to cut anyone else’s hair, but he can do a decent job.
Whilst Tyson isn’t someone who thinks by sticking out his tongue or regularly chews gum, he does tend to think better when he has something in his mouth.
He largely continues to smoke on-and-off as a way of keeping his hands occupied, but it’s also about giving his mouth something to do when he’s getting antsy.
Whilst teaching Tyson the harmonica was largely an excuse for Sebastian and Tyson to kiss, Moran was also aware that giving Delaney a simple task to focus on - especially one that kept his mouth busy - was a good way to get the gears turning in his head on whatever project had been stumping him.
And, no matter how old he becomes and no matter which verses he is in, Tyson will always be someone who gets his tongue stuck in glass bottles; especially when that bottle is half-full and there’s someone he wants to impress nearby.
Beyond checking the engine to put a balm on his anxiety before driving, Tyson pays very little attention to any car that he owns. Even in Teacher!Verse or Redemption!Verse, where Tyson’s car is his primary mode of transport, the only care that Tyson shows towards his cars are making sure that they remain clean as an allowance towards his OCD.
To Tyson, cars are nothing more than a loathed - yet useful - tool.
Though Tyson still distrusts motorbikes, he takes good care of those that he owns. He loves tinkering on them. He doesn’t spend time taking them apart and putting them back together due to safety concerned, but for a genuine love of engineering and feeling relaxed with the familiar task.
Though the other contents of Tyson’s rucksack will change regularly, there are a few constants to be found there:
His latest journal. - The notebook/journal has several poly-pockets to store any loose papers and almost always has a business card for Pup’s Pet Store inside.
Medicine box – Tyson got the medicine box while travelling across India with Sebastian. The content changes often but there is always a set of bandages, fabric gauze, rubbing alcohol, stitching thread, and PTSD suppressant medicine.
Two hunting knives - One has a silver edge for when he meets supernatural and the hollow handle has salt in it. The other has a serrated edge and a sharpening stone, piece of flint, and a fake stone with a GPS tracker in the handle. The bottom of this knife has a compass in it.
A teabag tin, used to stash away anything incriminating in a way that Tyson can hide away if he thinks he’ll get arrested to store safely away from the elements for later retrieval. There is a GPS tracker inside so that other agents of the web can retrieve it, if necessary.
And, inevitably, a few half-crushed dog treats.
Frequently, Tyson will be protecting his belongings from other pickpockets with a padlock and a crow plush from his nephew will frequently appear inside his bag.
Outside of the rucksack that Tyson carries around everywhere, the former Lieutenant always has a duffel packed as a go-bag. If he needs to uproot his life at a moment’s notice, Tyson can. He has everything he’ll need to survive and escape in that bag.
In other verses, the items in Tyson’s normal bag get changed a little:
DC UA: Here Tyson usually has a small laptop for his work as a professor, to back up his cover story whilst working for the web from his phone.
Hogwarts AU/Honey Badger AU: Tyson keeps almost everything he owns at Hogwarts within his rucksack to keep it safe.
Mythical!Verse: His tarot cards are a permanent fixture in Tyson’s rucksack in this verse and his grimoire joins his journal.
His tendency to throw himself in the pyre aside, Tyson has fantastic self-control and discipline; near infinite patience. He has the focus to push past his fears to harness fire. In many ways, having control over fire would help dissuade his fears, which mostly rotate around the wild and uncontrollable nature of fire.
He favours defence over attack, but the best defence is a good offence and Tyson is an old hand at turning something intended for attack into a viable defensive strategy. Sometimes that strategy is clever and cunning, and at other times it’s as simple as no longer needing defence if the enemy is defeated.
It may not be his favourite technique, but Tyson knows the defensive potential of power yet to be unleashed; of having superior firepower. In a more physical sense, though it too applies to larger strategic thinking, Tyson knows how effective taking an attack stance can be at providing a defence. Defending by forcing the opponent to retreat into their own defensive position.
He is an opportunity attacker who would be well-suited to fire’s versatility of attack styles and the idea of unleashing a flurry of blows into an opening to inflict as much damage as possible once an opening presents itself - or using that onslaught to force an opening - is something that Tyson regularly utilises.
Tyson is destined to burn by flying too close to the sun - several times - yet until the day that arrogance finally finished him off, that experience gives him an intimate knowledge of fire. He knows the dangers of playing with fire, but he also knows how to toy with it; how to tease and dance away with minor singes.
And that’s fire, taking a surprising second place.
Orphan AU 4 - Teen!VerseLDN - (Jethro and) Teenage Tyson
Orphan AU 1 - Child!Verse - (Jethro and) Child Tyson
In this verse when Tyson’s mother left his father, when Tyson was four, Tyson and Jethro were send to the orphanage as their father wanted nothing to do with his sons anymore.
In this verse Tyson is eight years old [face claim: Zachary Gordon] and Jethro is twelve [face claim: Léo Legrand].
Tyson and Jethro both go to a Hebrew school in the verse and share a room. The room they share has a single bed and a bunk bed. The single bed is empty, but your character could go there if they were in the orphanage too. Whilst the top bunk is technically Tyson’s, he will usually elect to sleep in the bottom bunk with his brother where he feels safe.
Jethro coddles Tyson and is highly protective of his little brother. Jethro is strong headed and quick to a challenge, but he is equally capable of being open and caring. It depends on how people respond to him and, more importantly, his little brother.
Tyson’s social anxieties are clear in this verse, he is shy and - more often than not - can be found hiding behind his older brother. Here Tyson and Jethro still have advanced understandings of mathematics for their ages, but not to the same extent as in the main verse: since they don’t have the advantages of having a mathematics Professor for a father to teach them anymore.
If asked to talk about mathematics Tyson’s face will light up and he can - if he gets going - avoid stuttering as he speaks about this, but yawning or acting disinterested as Tyson talks about maths is one of the quickest ways to [emotionally] hurt Tyson.
Jethro is very sporty and tried to encourage Tyson to join him in football and rugby practice as much as possible, but Tyson is afraid of getting hurt by ‘the bigger boys’ so can be found at the edge of the pitches watching his brother play. Sometimes Tyson will sketch the other people playing, but most of the time he just stays quiet and watches.
Tyson’s Synesthesia still exists in this verse, but he doesn’t bother to suppress it at all. He is yet to understand why no one else sees the maps that he does, he’d always assumed that everyone else could see the images he could. Jethro has helped Tyson understand it more, but - since Jethro can’t see the maps - he can’t do much to help his younger brother with this issue.
Tyson and Jethro are near inseparable in this verse.
As much as Jethro tries to encourage Tyson to find his own footing, he can’t help mother-hening him and swooping in at the slightest hint of trouble. For Tyson’s part, he’s trying his best to stop worrying his older brother, but can’t help feeling as though he’s letting Jethro down; like he let their father and mother down.
Tyson’s childhood issues with blood sugar remain in this verse and Jethro always had sweets to hand in case Tyson needs a boost in the middle of the day. For his part, Tyson never lets his rucksack out of his sights and anything important to him is kept close at hand inside of it.
Jethro has a box of keepsakes from their family home that he keeps under his bed: old photos of their mother, his end of school year reports from Cambridge, and information about their Delaney family legacy that they were apparently such disappointments to. That box doesn’t see daylight often and certainly never when Tyson is around to see inside.
In this verse when Tyson’s mother left his father, when Tyson was four, Tyson was sent to an orphanage without Jethro. Their father had never made it a secret that he favoured the older son so decided to send Tyson away on his own.
In this verse Tyson is nine years old [face claim: Zachary Gordon].
Here Tyson is shy, but curious. Without his brother to protect him, Tyson has to look after himself. This has meant that Tyson tries a lot more to interact with other people, he often fails to interact and withdraws into himself shyly, but he tries to make friends with other people and is curious about the world.
Tyson’s Synesthesia still exists in this verse, but he doesn’t bother to suppress it at all. He is yet to understand why no one else sees the maps that he does, he’d always assumed that everyone else could see the images he could.
Tyson hides, a lot. When his anxieties get the better of him, Tyson will run away into the first hiding spot he finds to avoid teachers, strangers, other children, et cetera. Once a hiding spot has been 'compromised’ - found - Tyson won’t return there and will run off to a new hiding spot until he feels safe enough to come out again.
In this verse he goes to a Hebrew school, because of a request his father made when he left Tyson at the orphanage. Tyson has been told why he goes to a different school than most of the other children. He gets good grades, especially in maths, but he doesn’t have friends at school. He’s tried to make friends with other children, but he finds it hard to interact with other people.
Tyson’s most prized possession is a ring bearing the family crest. The ring itself is a titanium/silver blend, there is a black circle of Black Tourmaline about the size of a five pence piece on the top of the ring pressed down to the level of the ring, and then the coat of arms is engraved into the stone in silver. It was given to him by Jethro before he left to go to the orphanage. He wears the ring around his neck on a silver rope chain and never takes it off.
Tyson’s room has three beds: a single and a bunk bed. He doesn’t share this room with anyone at the moment. He sleeps in the single bed.
Tyson is scared and hurting in a way that he doesn’t even understand in this verse. He feels abandoned and alone in a way that he doesn’t know how to express. It never feels like enough for the young Tyson. He tries so hard to make friends, to please everyone, but he doesn’t know how to and Tyson is terrified to failing; of getting thrown aside again.
Yet, Tyson does not know how to express that fear. He doesn’t know how to process what happened to him. He was too young to remember most of it, but that separation traumatised Tyson nevertheless. Tyson lost his mother, his father, his brother, and his childhood home. He feels that loss, even if he doesn’t remember it.
In this verse when Tyson’s mother left his father, when Tyson was four, Tyson was send to an orphanage without Jethro. Their father had never made it a secret that he favoured the older son so decided to send Tyson away on his own.
This verse is further in time than Orphan AU 2, Tyson is fifteen in this verse [face claim: Skandar Keynes].
In this verse Tyson is less shy, having had more socialisation than in any other verse, but he is still defensive. He doesn’t stutter anymore, but only talks when he has to and - generally - avoids talking to other people. Tyson’s Synesthesia still exists in this verse, but he doesn’t bother to suppress it at all.
Tyson’s room has two single beds. Tyson currently doesn’t have a room mate and sleeps in the bed nearest the window. This means that the room is covered in sheets of paper and articles about mathematics - and some maps - that interest Tyson. He doesn’t speak openly about mathematics in this verse, but he doesn’t hide it either. He choses to only speak about it when asked. Under Tyson’s bed - along with other possessions - are a bag of fencing equipment and another bag of cricket equipment. Under the bed Tyson also keeps several notebooks with sketches, mathematics notes, and the occasional map.
Tyson’s most prized possession is still a ring bearing the family crest. The ring itself is a titanium/silver blend, there is a black circle of Black Tourmaline about the size of a five pence piece on the top of the ring pressed down to the level of the ring, and then the coat of arms is engraved into the stone in silver. It was given to him by Jethro before he left to go to the orphanage. He no longer wears the ring on a chain and instead keeps it on his right middle finger. The only times he takes off the ring are when he’s swimming and when he’s fencing.
Tyson prefers not to exercise when not strictly necessary, but he is part of a fencing club and cricket club outside of the orphanage. He enjoys both sports, but he doesn’t boast about either sport. He dismisses any achievement in the sports, no matter how many tournament medals he has won; 5 for fencing and 3 for cricket.
Tyson still goes to a Hebrew school. He gets good grades (top set in mathematics, history, english, science, geography, and art; middle set in technology, music, German, drama, ICT, and RS; not in any bottom sets) but doesn’t enjoy going to school. He often finds it too loud at the school, so retreats to a quiet corner of the library.
Tyson has come to terms with his sexuality, being gay, but he is just to fully understand his orientation: being sexually gay, but romantically bi. He understands that he has had [romantic] crushes on girls, but he is yet to understand why that interest doesn’t extend to any sexual feelings.
Though there is some overlap with adult Tyson’s wardrobe, teenage Tyson’s wardrobe appears in this tag.
Whenever he’s out of the orphanage, Tyson can either be found making his way to the library on his heelys for some peace and quiet, or people watching from somewhere he isn’t technically supposed to be: a nearby fire escape, a tree in the park, or tucked between two cars; desperately hoping that he goes unnoticed.
His talent for trouble is unhampered. He doesn’t go looking for trouble, for opportunities to hide bruised knuckles from the guardians at the orphanage, but Tyson has always been too curious for his own good. He wants to prove that he can be useful.
Orphan AU 4 - Teen!VerseLDN - (Jethro and) Teenage Tyson
In this verse when Tyson’s mother left his father, when Tyson was four, Tyson and Jethro were send to the orphanage as their father wanted nothing to do with his sons anymore.
This verse is further in time than Orphan AU 1, Tyson is fifteen years old [face claim: Skandar Keynes] and Jethro is nineteen [face claim: Cody Christian].
As far as the Delaney brothers were concerned, getting separated was not an option. Jethro’s eighteenth birthday meant having to leave the orphanage and his brother behind. That was unacceptable, though the pair had known it would happen for years, and - as such - had years to plan.
Those years spent planning didn’t exactly improve the quality of plans concocted by two desperately afraid teenagers with far too much courage and nothing to lose. Jethro left the orphanage at eighteen, then suddenly dropped completely off the map with his younger brother in tow.
Several even more questionable decisions and acquaintances later, Tyson and Jethro are now living in London under false identities: Anthony Hawthorn & Reuben Hawthorn.
Strictly speaking, Jethro works a normal legal job as a junior chef to provide a home for his younger brother. That normal job simply happens to pay unusually well to provide their excellent flat of questionably low rent, as both the restaurant and their apartment complex may happen to be financed by the same criminal organisation.
The formerly Delaney, now Hawthorn brothers are in over their heads. Jethro is frequently sent off on - technically - innocent errands for their mysterious sponsor and Tyson is being groomed for criminal activities; having already proven himself to be a natural pickpocket and having a good head for planning.
In this verse, ‘Anthony’ is largely the same as Teen!Verse Tyson; wearing the same leather jacket and riding the same skateboard. For the time being, Tyson is free to continue attending school under the name Anthony, though he’s been given friendly encouragementby their patrons to take up boxing rather than fencing.
However, there are debts to be paid in their futures. For now, they get to enjoy a relatively cushy life, but both are keenly aware that eventually the demands made of them will escalate; and there is nothing that either can do to prevent that.
‘Reuben’ is easily recognised as the same Jethro that ran away from the Delaney family legacy in Tyson’s main universe, however he now has to carry the additional responsibility of caring for his brother and trying to get them both out of the web he inadvertently trapped them in.
Though he misses fencing from time to time, Tyson has taken to boxing rather well. He can feel his brother’s disapproving frown every time that Tyson returns from the gym, but pleasing their patron is in their best interests and Tyson does enjoy boxing. He finds it to be a good way to vent his fear and frustrations, without coming home with bruises that set Jethro fretting again or cause ‘Anthony’s school to call with concerns about his care.
That Tyson could easily go professional with his fencing and potentially pay off the debts the brothes owe is a large reason why he was discouraged from continuing it. This fact hasn’t escaped either brother, but equally they know that wouldn’t be a guarenteed solution to their problems either.
It wouldn’t have been his first career choice and he would prefer not to know that a large portion of the customers have more talent with knifes than the staff, but Jethro does enjoy working as a chef. It’s the other parts of his job that bother ‘Reuben’. The unofficial ‘if you have a free moment’ parts that have him dreading the day he doesn’t return from one of those errands.
